Coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat are wasting no time trying to upgrade their roster.
On Saturday, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that the Heat and Phoenix Suns are “in serious talks with” the Washington Wizards about a trade for All-Star guard Bradley Beal.
According to a report from Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, it’s believed that the Heat’s trade offer to Washington consists of veteran guard Kyle Lowry and potentially Victor Oladipo or three-point specialist Duncan Robinson.
The report added that Miami would prefer not to include one of its key role players, Tyler Herro, in a potential trade for Beal:
“The Heat’s offer to the Wizards is believed to be built around the expiring contract of guard Kyle Lowry and could also include either Duncan Robinson or Victor Oladipo to help fulfill the salary-cap matching component of the deal. The Heat is also expected to include at least one first-round pick in its package. The Heat is believed to prefer a Lowry/Robinson package; that likely would result in a much lower luxury tax bill in 2024-25 and 2025-26 than a Lowry/Oladipo package
The Heat is working to complete the trade for Beal without including guard Tyler Herro, who is entering the first year of a four-year, $130 million extension that he signed with Miami last September.”
The Heat have been a juggernaut since Jimmy Butler’s arrival in 2019-20. The Heat have played in two NBA Finals and reached the Eastern Conference Finals three times. The only thing missing is a championship with the Butler-Bam Adebayo-led core.
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A player of Beal’s caliber would unquestionably improve Miami’s chances of winning the NBA Championship next year. The Eastern Conference is much easier than the Western Conference, and Beal’s arrival would likely make the reigning conference champions that much more prolific in the scoring department.
But as Charania reported, the Heat aren’t the only team in advanced talks with Washington on Beal. There is, unsurprisingly, intense competition for one of the game’s elite playmakers and scorers.
